A compliant hinge is a thin member that provides relative rotation between adjacent rigid members through bending. As shown in FIG. 1a for example, a simple compliant hinge 10 can include a slender intermediate portion 12 that is elastically flexible to provide relative rotation between first and second end portions 14, 16. The slender intermediate portion 12 can include a reduced width as shown in FIG. 1b. 
Also referred to as flexural hinges or flexures, compliant hinges can be used for numerous tasks, including interconnecting rigid parts that require stowage for transport and deployment for service. Compliant hinges include many advantages over jointed (classical) hinges, including compactness, ease of fabrication, and substantially no friction losses, hysteresis, or need for lubrication.
Despite their advantages over jointed hinges, known compliant hinges can have large in-plane stiffness, making them undesirable for membrane-like structures. In addition, known compliant hinges are sometimes sufficiently thin to avoid strain levels that might lead to permanent deformations or fractures when folded to 180°.